Peaches and Chlorine
by adorablepancreas
Summary: "Whoever came up with the term 'butterflies' never met Emily Fields." Begins with episode 3X08, and does not follow the show's canon after that. Paige and Emily are together again, and they really want to make it work. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or the characters. All of the rights to them belong to ABC Family and Sara Shepard. **

"I was looking for something. I was looking for somebody...and I came here."

Paige let out a huff of relief as she took in what Emily was saying. Emily wanted her. _Emily_ wanted _her. _She smiled and looked down, trying to comprehend the fact that this was really happening. Beautiful, perfect Emily Fields wanted plain, flawed Paige McCullers.

"Don't look away."

Paige's neck tingled where Emily placed her hand, guiding her forward. Paige was dizzy before their lips even met, her heart swimming in a pool of Emily. Her hands moved up and down Emily's arms, as Emily's found their way to Paige's hair. Emily's tongue slid along Paige's bottom lip and she moaned softly, immediately parting her lips. As the kiss deepened, she felt Emily's body press up against hers. She smiled into her, leaning further and further in, never getting close enough to this girl that she had craved since she first saw her.

The kiss was gentle and passionate, just like Emily. It was hungry but patient, explorative but familiar; they were getting reacquainted with the way each other tasted and felt.

They separated, resting their foreheads against one another, their slightly quickened breath mingling together. Emily laced her fingers with Paige's, planting another quick peck on her lips.

"Oh my God," Paige said, still feeling her body buzz with arousal and happiness and disbelief.

"Wow," she heard Emily breathe out. Paige opened her eyes and saw the same look in Emily's eyes that she knew she wore every time she saw the darker girl. One of adoration, affection, longing.

Paige felt her heart flutter and she kissed Emily's cheek, and pulled her in for a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around her and buried her face in the other girl's neck, smelling a mixture of peaches and chlorine that she knew to be uniquely Emily. Paige felt a pair of soft lips touch her neck lightly, again and again, making her heart do somersaults and her skin tingle, and she worried her ability to hold herself up would fail her. The girls stayed like that for a few minutes and Paige pressed herself as close to Emily as she could, enjoying the warmth of the other girl's body and the feeling of holding her in her arms.

Finally, she pulled back to look Emily in the eye.

"I'm really sorry again, Em. I should have stopped you that night, but I-"

"Shhh. It's okay." Paige was stopped mid-apology by Emily's finger on her lips, which was quickly replaced by Emily's mouth. They kissed for a few seconds and then Emily spoke again.

"You don't need to apologize. As scary as it is that I don't remember coming here, I don't regret it. When you told me about that night, it reminded me of how much I like you. I came to you that night for a reason. I'm ready to start moving on, and I want to do that with you, Paige."

Paige loved the way Emily said her name. It was the same as everyone else said it, but it felt so different, as if Emily liked the way it tasted on her tongue. She looked into Emily's eyes and saw sincerity. Emily really was ready to date again, and she wanted Paige.

Paige sighed and then, after a few seconds, smirked, suddenly struck with an idea. "Wanna go for a swim?"

The corners of Emily's lips turned upward in a grin. "I don't have my bathing suit."

"We can just swim in our tank tops and underwear."

Without waiting for an answer, Paige took off her shoes and pants and dove into the pool. When she poked her head back out of the water, she said, "Come on, Fields. Swim with me."

Emily removed her shoes and pants as well and did a cannonball into the pool, splashing water into Paige's eyes. "Hey!" Paige said, and splashed Emily back when she reemerged, giggling. "Watch it, Em. If you blind me, I won't be able to see you and tell you how beautiful you are."

Emily stopped laughing but kept the smile on her face. Paige saw that Emily was blushing as she swam over to Paige and wrapped one arm around her torso, holding onto the side of the pool with the other.

"You might also turn into a robot like Jenna, and cyborgs don't turn me on. I'll be more careful." Paige laughed and leaned in to press her lips to Emily's. The kiss quickly deepened, and Paige moaned softly as their tongues met. Chlorine mixed with Emily tasted like home.

After they parted, Emily left a quick kiss on Paige's nose, then started swimming toward the opposite end of the pool. Paige stayed by the edge, watching the tan girl's muscles move underneath the water. Emily was equal parts power and grace. Paige was in awe.

When Emily returned to her starting point, Paige took off with her for the next lap. She quickly fell into Emily's established rhythm, swimming effortlessly in time with her. They swam a few dozen laps together, perfectly in sync, before Emily decided it was getting late and she should head home.

The girls got out of the pool and Paige grabbed two towels that were lying on a nearby lounge chair, handing one to Emily. They dried off, and Paige kept stealing glances at Emily's bare, toned legs. The girl was a goddess, and it was only after a good thirty seconds of staring that she heard Emily clear her throat. Paige looked up to see that Emily had an eyebrow quirked and a seductive smirk on her face. Paige felt her face turning a bright shade of crimson, but given the events of the night, she realized she shouldn't be embarrassed. She could finally look at Emily like that without feeling like a pervert. Well, maybe she still did, but it was justified because Emily was now looking at her exactly the same way. Paige could see the desire in her eyes. What Paige was feeling exceeded all possible expectations. Whoever came up with the term 'butterflies' never met Emily Fields.

When they had dried off and gotten dressed, Paige took Emily's hand in hers. She gave it a light squeeze as they began walking to Emily's car and smiled when she felt a squeeze in return. They walked slowly, neither one of them wanting to leave the other's company. When they reached the car, they turned to each other.

Paige smiled and said, "Tonight was...great." She winced internally at how lame that sounded. She didn't want to say too much too fast, but she needed Emily to know how much this night meant to her. She looked down at her hands entwined with Emily's, and turned them so that their fingers were laced together, fitting perfectly between one another. She looked back up, making eye contact with the girl in front of her.

Emily was smiling at her as she began rubbing her thumbs along the back of Paige's hands. They leaned in simultaneously and their lips met. Paige moved her hands to Emily's waist, and Emily put one hand on the back of Paige's neck, holding her in place. They kissed slowly, and Paige found herself trying to memorize the way Emily's body felt pressed against hers. Emily's other hand grazed Paige's back gently through her wet tank top, and came to rest at the very bottom of her lower back at the top of her athletic pants. Emily turned a little, pinning Paige between herself and the car. She ran her hands up and down Paige's sides, feeling warm breath on her cheek as they kissed. They soon had to part for air, and smiled at each other, breathing heavily. Paige loved this feeling. She felt like she could live off of it, sleep and sustenance be damned.

Emily planted one more soft kiss on Paige's lips. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Emily opened her car door and got inside. She put on her seatbelt, started the engine, and waved to Paige before driving away. Paige waved back and stared at the car until it was out of sight.

* * *

Emily parked her car and walked up the steps to her front door. When she entered the house, she heard her mother's voice.

"Emily?"

"Hi, Mom."

Pam appeared around the corner from the kitchen, and smiled when she saw her daughter. "Hi, honey. Swim practice run late?" she asked, taking in Emily's wet hair.

"Um, no, I was over at Paige's house. We went for an impromptu swim."

"Oh, that's nice. Are you two becoming closer friends?"

Emily paused. "More than friends, actually." She smiled, unable to contain herself. "We dated briefly last year but it didn't work out. Tonight I went over there to talk, and we're going to try again."

Pam looked a little surprised, but smiled at how happy Emily was. "That's great. I didn't even know that Paige was gay."

Emily nodded. "That's why it didn't work with her before; she wasn't ready to come out and I didn't want to be a secret. But she's ready now. She came out to her parents and everything. Not because of me, but she's made a lot of progress."

"And you're ready to move on from Maya?"

Emily paused, thinking about her response. "Yeah. A part of me will always love and miss her. She was my first real love. But I've been grieving for long enough, and I'm ready to start trying to move on. I really like Paige, and I want to be with her."

Pam smiled at Emily and said, "Well, I'm glad you're happy again, honey." She reached out to hug Emily who wrapped her arms around her mom.

After a few moments Emily pulled away and looked her mom in the eye. "I don't think I ever thanked you properly for accepting me. It means a lot to me to have your support. Thank you, Mom."

Pam had an apologetic look on her face as she spoke. "Emily, I'm sorry it took me so long to get here. But now, I couldn't be more proud of the strong, beautiful, brave young woman you've become. I love you so much." She wiped a tear out of her eye and chuckled. "God, now you've got me crying! Thanks a lot." She smiled jokingly at Emily, who smiled back.

"Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

Emily walked up the stairs to her bedroom and took off Nate's jacket. She tossed it on a nearby chair, rolling her eyes as she remembered his attempt to hit on her even though he knew he didn't have a chance. She pulled her phone out of the pocket, kicked her shoes off, and flopped down on her bed. She scrolled through the contacts on her phone, finding Paige's name and selecting it. After thinking for a moment, she decided what to say and began to type.

_Thank you for tonight. It was perfect. _

Paige's reply came quickly.

_It really was. You make me so happy, Emily. _

Emily felt her heart flutter.

_Likewise. :) Do you want to do something tomorrow?_

Emily took a sip out of the water bottle on her nightstand, and waited for her phone to buzz again.

_Emily Fields, are you asking me on a date? ;D_

Emily laughed.

_Yes, McCullers, a date. You're such a dork. _

Again, the response was almost immediate.

_But I'm a cute dork. I'd love to see you tomorrow. What did you have in mind?_

Emily was beaming as she typed out a response.

_I'm not telling, it's a surprise. _

Emily knew Paige would be frustrated with this, but she didn't care. Paige could be impatient all she wanted. What Emily was planning was worth it.

_No fair! You're killing me, Fields. Maybe I don't want to go now. *pouty face*_

Emily rolled her eyes.

_Oh, please. As if._

Emily loved having this sort of banter with Paige. It was comfortable. She and Maya had had a different kind of connection, one that was a little playful but mostly more serious, based on attraction. With Paige, all of that same attraction was there, of course, but along with it came a very natural and easy friendship that she had really missed in the time they had been distant from one another. Their competitive swimmer personalities made for races in the pool as well as some all-in-good-fun trash talk that Emily really enjoyed. Not to mention, the chemistry they had was undeniable.

Her phone alerted her of another text.

_You're right. I'm incapable of resisting you._

Emily's heartbeat sped up, and she swallowed hard. The abrupt change in tone of the texts, from playful teasing to real emotion, made Emily fall even harder for Paige. She adored this girl, and loved how she made her feel.

_I'll text you about it in the morning. :)_

Emily lightly bit her bottom lip, happy that she and Paige were going on a date. A real date. She replayed the night's events in her head and wondered if she would be able to fall asleep since she was so excited.

_I can't wait. Sleep well, Em._

Emily smiled.

_You too. Dream of me._

Emily got up and changed out of her wet athletic gear, leaving her phone on the bed, and threw her clothes in her hamper before pulling on an oversized t-shirt and some shorts to sleep in. She had considered taking a shower to get the chlorine out of her hair, but she was pretty tired. It had been an emotional day.

As she finished changing, she heard her phone buzz, indicating a final text from Paige. She sat down on her bed and opened the message.

_I always do. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. **

**A/N: Thank you ALL so much for reviewing, favoriting, and adding this story to your alerts! I was so pleasantly surprised with the response to the first chapter. I hope the second chapter lives up to your expectations! **

* * *

Paige woke up to her alarm at 8:00 the next morning. She instantly thought about what happened the night before, and her face almost couldn't contain the width of her smile as she sprang out of bed. Normally she was not a morning person. On any other day, she would be hitting the snooze button at least twice, and grunting and groaning as she dragged herself out from underneath the covers, smacking her alarm clock to turn it off as she went. But not today. Today, she had a date with Emily Fields.

She grabbed her phone off of her nightstand and checked it, a little bit disappointed that Emily hadn't texted her yet about their date. _Stop being so greedy, Paige,_ she told herself. It was Saturday, after all, and just because she got up early in order to stay on a relatively normal sleep schedule and to get in an early morning workout to boost her metabolism (per her dad's insistence rather than her own choice), that didn't mean Emily was up at this time. She just had to be patient.

She made her way downstairs into the kitchen to pour herself some cereal. As she entered, she saw her mom at the refrigerator, getting out the milk to pour into her own bowl.

"Good morning, Mom!" said Paige, the smile on her face still as wide as when she woke up. She made her way over to the cabinet to take out a bowl and a box of Cheerios. After pouring the cereal, she looked over at her mom, who still hadn't answered her.

"What?" Paige laughed. Anna McCullers was staring at her daughter as if she'd gotten a giant tattoo on her face.

"Not once, in your life have you EVER been this peppy in the morning. Alright, what's going on? Are you high?" Anna smirked at Paige to show she was joking, but had one eyebrow quirked to question this unusual mood her daughter was in.

Paige rolled her eyes and huffed out a laugh.

"_No_, I just know for a fact that today is going to be an amazing day," Paige said, then picked up the milk and poured some into the bowl.

"Oh, and why's that?"

Paige put the milk down and got a spoon out of the drawer in front of her, pushing the Cheerios down into the milk so that no individual O was dry.

"Because," Paige began, then took a bite, chewing it slowly, enjoying keeping her mom in suspense. After she swallowed, she said, "I have a date tonight."

She smiled triumphantly and took another bite, though she was keeping an eye on how her mom reacted. Paige's relationship with her parents had really improved since coming out to them. They were listening to her more, paying closer attention to what she really wanted, not only in her personal life but also in school and plans for her future. Her father was still controlling, but since realizing how much freer and happier she was after accepting her sexuality, he had let up a bit and allowed her more freedom to lead her own life.

Both of her parents, after the initial shock, had voiced support for their daughter. But, Paige knew, it still made them slightly uncomfortable to imagine her dating girls. They assured her that they accepted her, that the discomfort was just a result of their lack of understanding, and that with Paige's help, they would learn what they needed to to become as happy for her as they could be. It was a work in progress, but Paige could see how hard they were trying and she was really grateful.

Anna looked a bit surprised at hearing Paige had a date, but she quickly broke out into a smile. "Oh! Um, that's wonderful, Paige. Who's the lucky girl?"

Paige felt a warmth spread through her that she recognized as feeling loved. Before coming out, she knew her parents loved her, but most of it came in the form of trying to control her life, to make her be the best she could be. They did it because they thought it was in her best interest, but Paige never felt like they really understood her. Now that they were listening to what she wanted rather than deciding it for her, she felt closer to them than ever. Every time they acknowledged her being gay, even in little ways like just now, Paige felt accepted.

She was beaming as she answered her mother. "_I'm_ the lucky one. I'm going out with Emily Fields."

This time the surprise on her mom's face lasted longer. "_The _Emily Fields? The one you said you've been crushing on since before you even realized you were...gay?"

Paige blushed, but her smile never faltered. "The very same."

Anna smiled at Paige's excitement. "Congratulations! You said she was dating Maya St. Germain before...well, _before_...right?"

Paige nodded. "Yeah, after Emily and I dated briefly, she got back together with Maya. She was grieving her for a long time, and probably still is, but she told me she's ready to start moving on; and she asked me on a date."

"Well, that's great, Paige. I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, Mom," she said.

"You're welcome."

They both brought their bowls to the kitchen table and sat down to eat. They ate in relative silence other than a little bit of small talk here and there, but it was comfortable. Paige couldn't stop thinking about her date later, anyway, and she wondered what Emily had planned for the two of them.

As if on cue, her phone chimed, indicating a text. She picked it up eagerly, and her heart sped up just seeing Emily's name on the screen. She unlocked her phone and read the message.

_Good morning. :) I was thinking I'll pick you up at 7:00 for our date tonight. Does that work for you?_

Paige began typing back instantly.

_That's perfect. Will you give me a hint about where we're going?_

She took a bite of her cereal, smiling as she chewed. After a few moments her phone chimed again.

_Not a chance. See you at 7:00. ;)_

Paige typed back quickly.

_FINE. ;) See you then._

As Paige put her phone down, she caught a glimpse of her mom out of the corner of her eye, smiling at her. She looked up.

"What?"

"Is that Emily texting you?"

"Yeah, she's picking me up at 7. How'd you know it was her?"

Anna's smile widened and she got up from the table, heading over to the sink to rinse her empty bowl.

"I haven't seen your face light up like that in a long time. Oh, and Paige?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't sell yourself short. Emily's lucky, too."

* * *

Paige was running her usual loop around the neighborhood, her workout playlist playing in her ears. Normally it was what she focused on for inspiration to push harder, run faster, never stop; she would follow the beat of the music and make sure her pace never strayed off tempo. But today, Emily was the only thing on her mind. Emily was the only inspiration she needed to work her hardest and be the best Paige she could be.

As she ran, she again replayed the events of the previous night in her mind. Especially the kisses. She never wanted Emily's lips to leave hers, and when they did, she wanted time to pass until they were kissing again. She licked her lips thinking about it and tasted a saltiness from the sweat dripping down her face. This was the best workout she had had in awhile.

She checked her pedometer, which told her she had run five miles. She switched her iPod to her cool down playlist and slowed her pace to a jog as she made her way back home to get in some laps in the pool.

She reached the gate to her backyard and unlatched it, closing it again behind her. She removed her shoes and athletic clothes, revealing the swimsuit she had worn underneath. After putting her iPod and her clothing on a nearby lounge chair, Paige dove into the pool. As she was submerged, the refreshing water washed over her and cooled her core body temperature immediately. She popped her head up out of the water and began doing laps freestyle, making sure her form was on point.

She sped through the water, doing a dozen or so laps, before realizing that she was no longer focusing on the preciseness of her strokes as she should be. She was just going through the motions, as her mind swam in thoughts of Emily.

* * *

Paige looked at the clock on her nightstand. 6:30 glared at her in bright red; half an hour until Emily was coming. After her run and some training in the pool, Paige had taken a long, hot shower to relax. She was nervous about her date tonight. She had a less-than-great track record when it came to dating Emily and even though she knew that both of them were different now, that things had changed, she still had to make sure not to screw anything up.

Paige stood at her closet, a pile of rejected outfits on her bed. She wondered when she became one of _those_ girls...the ones who complained about having nothing to wear. _When Emily came into my life, I guess,_ she thought.

She sighed and tossed yet another top onto the pile. Since Emily wouldn't tell her a thing about what they were doing tonight, Paige didn't know how she should dress. Would nice jeans and a cute top be enough, or should she go fancier? She didn't want to feel over- or under-dressed, wherever they ended up.

She looked through her closet again and decided that Emily probably wasn't planning any sort of black tie attire type of night. She pulled out her favorite pair of nice skinny jeans, a maroon button-down top, and a black vest. She got dressed and pulled her hair back in a simple ponytail, straightening her clothing out and checking her outfit from every angle. Once she was satisfied she went into the bathroom to start on her makeup. She went for a relatively simple look, using just a little bit of a subtle eyeshadow along with some mascara and a hint of eyeliner. She added a small amount of color to her cheeks and looked at herself in the mirror, making sure she looked her best.

When she was finished she checked her watch. 6:55. Five more minutes until Emily arrived.

She grabbed the bag she had packed with her things and headed downstairs. She was too excited and anxious to sit so she found herself pacing back and forth in the foyer.

Finally, after a few minutes, her phone chimed. A text from Emily.

_Hey, I'm here. :)_

"Mom, I'm leaving!" Paige called.

Her mother approached her from the direction of the living room. "Okay, honey. Back by midnight."

Paige rolled her eyes. "Okay."

"You look great, Paige. Very sharp."

Paige smiled. "Thank you."

Anna pulled Paige in for a quick hug. "Have a great time."

"I will. Bye."

Paige opened the front door and exited the house, closing the door behind her. Emiliy's car was at the curb, and she saw Emily wave as she walked up. She opened the passenger door and got inside.

"Hi."

"Hey."

Emily leaned over and gave Paige a quick kiss on the lips.

"You look great."

Paige blushed. "Thanks, I wasn't sure how to dress, since I don't know where we're going, but I figured this would be good. You look amazing, too."

Emily was wearing a denim skirt that reached almost halfway down her thighs when sitting, and a purple cashmere sweater that hugged her curves in all of the right places. She wore her hair down, cascading over her shoulders.

"Thank you." Emily smiled.

"Sooo...what are we doing tonight?" Paige asked.

Emily laughed. "Impatient, much? You'll know when we get there."

"You're impossible." Paige shook her head in mock disappointment, and out of the corner of her eye she could see Emily trying to hold back a smirk.

Emily started the engine and drove down the street. It was about a twenty minute drive to their destination, so she turned the radio on low for some background noise. They made small talk as they went, about how their day had been and how the new freshmen on the swim team were measuring up. It was an easy, comfortable conversation with no awkward transitions or pauses, and Paige couldn't help thinking that she had never been more comfortable with anyone in her life. Halfway through the drive, during a comfortable lull in the conversation, Emily reached over and grabbed Paige's hand in hers, resting it on Paige's lap. Paige smiled and laced her fingers with Emily's, amazed at how soft the darker girl's hands were.

They stayed like this for the rest of the drive, at the end of which Paige started to notice that certain landmarks looked very familiar. As they pulled up to their destination, a flash of recognition ignited Paige's memory.

"Are you serious?" she laughed.

Emily parked her car in the nearest spot and turned off the ignition, turning to Paige with a grin on her face.

"I thought it might be fun. I consider this the place where we had our first date, even though it wasn't really official. It was the first time I really got to know you other than the surface stuff we learned about each other on the team. I felt a strong connection with you that night and since us dating didn't work out for long after that, I thought why not come back and start fresh, recreating a night we both enjoyed?"

Paige looked back at the karaoke bar, remembering the night she spilled her guts to Emily and sang with her on stage. It was one of her fondest memories of the short time they spent together.

"I love it," said Paige.

The girls got out of the car and joined hands before turning and walking toward the entrance of the bar. The inside looked exactly the same as it had a year before. The place was about half full; not too empty and not too crowded. It set the perfect ambience to recreate the night they spent there last year.

Paige looked to the left and saw that the same table they sat at last time was open. She nodded her head that way, and Emily smiled and nodded. They walked over to the booth and sat down.

A waiter came over almost immediately to hand them some menus.

"Hello ladies, I'm Jeff and I'll be your server this evening. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

Emily said, "I'll just have a water, please."

"Same for me, thanks," Paige added.

"Okay, I'll be right back with those for you."

The two girls perused the menu, quickly deciding what they wanted to eat, and looked up as Jeff came back with their waters.

"Here you are, girls. Are you ready to order?"

Paige and Emily gave Jeff their respective orders, Emily ordering a soup and salad combo and Paige going with a chicken club with fruit on the side.

After Jeff collected their menus and left, the girls turned to each other.

"I can't believe you brought us back here," Paige said, smiling.

Emily smiled back. "Is this worth the suspense of not knowing where I was taking you?"

Paige laughed. "Yeah, definitely. I'm a little surprised, though. I screwed up so badly at our last attempt at dating. We had fun here but it was still remote where I knew we wouldn't be seen, and-"

"Hey, Paige," Emily said, and reached for Paige's hand across the table. "We're past that. I'm really proud of how far you've come. I brought us here tonight because I knew we'd have fun. It doesn't matter to me who does or doesn't see us."

Paige smiled, feeling a bit silly for bringing it up. "I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up the past. I just still regret not fighting for you before."

"Well," Emily replied, "I actually feel like I need to apologize. I should have been more patient with you. I mean, I knew I couldn't go back into the closet, but Maya was there for me when I was figuring things out, and I should have been there for you. I understood how you were feeling and I wasn't much help. I'm sorry."

Paige shook her head. "No, Em, it's okay. Really. I shouldn't have expected you to wait for me."

"But you were making small steps towards coming out. You set up that meeting with the representative from the LGBT group. I mean, you...didn't end up showing up to that, but I could tell you were trying..."

"Oh, I was planning on going to that meeting. In fact I was leaving the house when my dad stopped me and asked where I was going. I couldn't tell him the specifics, obviously, so I just said I was going to meet a friend. But he wouldn't let me go anywhere until I had studied for a big history exam I had the next day. I told him I had already studied a lot, but he wouldn't let me leave."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"I tried to tell you, but..."

"I guess I didn't really give you a chance to explain, did I?" Emily sighed.

"Em, really, it's okay. Everything worked out for the best. Yes, it would have been easier to come out if I'd still been with you, or even if we'd stayed friends, and I wish I could have explained myself to you that day. But the way everything turned out was good. I got to learn how strong I can be on my own."

Emily smiled and gave Paige's hand a squeeze. "I think we can agree we both regret how we handled things before, even though we were both justified, but it's in the past now. We can start fresh."

Paige nodded. "Yeah, definitely."

They chatted some more, making comments on the weird art on the wall next to them and drooling at the delicious items on the dessert menu.

After about fifteen minutes, Jeff came back with their meals.

"Here you are, ladies. Enjoy, and let me know if you need anything else."

"Thank you," the girls said in unison, and smiled at Jeff before he walked away.

The girls began to eat, enjoying their food and each other's company. They made some more small talk until Paige was able to work up the courage to ask what she really wanted to ask.

"So, Em," she started. She picked up her fork and started fiddling with a piece of her cantaloupe. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but no words came out. She felt her cheeks redden as she tried to get her question out.

"Yes?" Emily said.

"Um, I wanted to ask you...I mean I think I already know the answer, but...I wanted to ask anyway..." Paige paused, twirling her fork in her hand.

"Paige?"

Paige looked up to see Emily smirking at her. "What is it?"

"Um..." Paige looked back down at her fruit, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She looked back up. "Emily, will you...be my, my girlfriend?"

Emily's smirk turned into a grin that would threaten to throw the Cheshire cat out of business. "Yes. Of course I'll be your girlfriend. I was kinda hoping I already was."

Paige swallowed down the lump in her throat. "Yeah, me too. I mean, you are. I just wanted to ask, like officially. I wanted to be clear on-on what we are, I guess. Great now I'm rambling. So not cute." She looked back down, finding her watermelon especially interesting this time.

"Actually, I think you're adorable."

Paige's head shot up, and breathed some relief when she saw Emily's genuine smile. She smiled back sheepishly. "Oh. Well. Thanks."

She finally took a bite of the fruit she had been playing with this whole time, and it was sweeter on her tongue than it had been at first taste.

Suddenly the speakers in the bar started playing P!nk's "So What", and Paige and Emily both turned their heads to see a girl of about twenty holding the mic up to her lips, belting out the song. Both of the girls smiled, remembering singing that same song together a year ago.

Emily turned back to Paige. "Do you want to go next?"

Paige glanced at the stage then back at Emily. "You want to sing again? You were so against it last time."

"Yeah, until you forced me up there and I had a blast. Come on, it'll be fun."

Paige glanced back at the girl on stage, who was dancing enthusiastically to the music. Paige suspected a certain amount of alcohol might have been involved.

"Yeah, okay, sure."

They each took a few last bites of their meal and then walked up to the front of the bar to look at the song list. Once they chose one, they waited by the side of the stage until the girl finished her number. They then climbed the steps onto the stage and each grabbed a microphone.

The music started to play, and they began singing along with the lyrics on the screens in front of them.

**Sitting here, on this lonely dock**

**Watch the rain play on the ocean top**

**All the things I feel I need to say**

**I can't explain in any other way**

**I need to be bold**

**Need to jump in the cold water**

**Need to grow older with a girl like you**

**Finally see you are naturally**

**The one to make it so easy**

**When you show me the truth**

**Yeah, I'd rather be with you**

**Say you want the same thing too**

**Now here's the sun, come to dry the rain**

**Warm my shoulders and relieve my pain**

**You're the one thing that I'm missing here**

**With you beside me I no longer fear**

**I need to be bold**

**Need to jump in the cold water**

**Need to grow older with a girl like you**

**Finally see you are naturally**

**The one to make it so easy**

**When you show me the truth**

**Yeah, I'd rather be with you**

**Say you want the same thing too**

**I could have saved so much time for us**

**Had I seen the way to get to where I am today**

**You waited on me for so long**

**So now, listen to me say:**

**I need to be bold**

**Need to jump in the cold water**

**Need to grow older with a girl like you**

**Finally see you are naturally**

**The one to make it so easy**

**When you show me the truth**

**Yeah, I'd rather be with you**

**Say you want the same thing too**

**Say you feel the way I do**

The song ended, and the tables closest to the stage broke out into polite applause. Emily and Paige smiled in thanks and put down their microphones. They walked off stage and back to their table, hand in hand.

* * *

Emily pulled up to the curb in front of Paige's house and parked the car. They both got out and started walking up the steps to Paige's front door, stopping at the top.

"I had such an amazing time tonight, Emily. It was the perfect...what number first date are we on?"

Emily laughed. "Three, I think? Sort of?"

"Right," Paige replied. "Third time's the charm and all that, right?"

Emily laughed softly and found Paige's hands with her own, lacing their fingers together. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before leaning in halfway, their lips meeting in the middle. The kiss started soft and gentle, their lips moving against each other slowly. It soon became more heated as Paige slipped her tongue in between Emily's lips, which was rewarded with a muffled moan. Emily's mouth opened wider, deepening the kiss, and their tongues massaged each other passionately. After a few moments they separated, still holding hands, and smiled at each other.

"Goodnight, Paige."

"Goodnight, Emily."

Paige took her keys out of her bag and opened the door, waving to Emily before closing it behind her. She turned around and leaned back against the door, smiling and taking deep breaths as she reveled in the feeling of finally being Emily's girlfriend.

She ascended the stairs and was about to enter her room when she heard her mother's voice.

"Paige, is that you?"

"Yeah, I'm home."

Anna came out from the master bedroom and walked down the hall towards Paige, smiling.

"How was your date?"

Paige grinned and felt herself blush as she looked at her mom. "I have a girlfriend."

She bit her bottom lip and nodded, liking the way that sounded coming out of her mouth.

Her mom smiled. "That's great, honey! So it went well, obviously."

Paige nodded again. "It was amazing."

She told her mom a little bit about her night, explaining the significance of going to that venue and how it felt just as incredible being with Emily like that as it had the first time, a year ago.

Anna smiled again and said, "I'm glad you had such a great night. And congratulations on finally getting your girl."

She winked at her daughter who smiled at her mom's choice of words. Emily was _her_ girl now. Finally.

"Thanks, Mom. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Paige."

Paige turned and walked into her room, putting her bag down on her desk chair. She quickly changed into her pajama pants and an old Rosewood Sharks t-shirt before going into the restroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.

As she climbed into bed, she heard her phone chime on her night stand. It was a text from her girlfriend.

_Goodnight, Paige._ _Sweet dreams._

She smiled as she typed out her reply.

_Goodnight, Em. Thanks for the best third first date a girl could ask for. ;)_

She plugged her phone in to charge and turned off her light. She fell asleep quickly, imagining growing older with a girl like Emily.

**Thanks for reading! Please review, if you're so inclined! :) Oh and the song is "I'd Rather Be With You" by Joshua Radin. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and for those of you who have favorited/followed my story. **

**I am SO SO sorry this chapter is up so late. My grandma was visiting me for a week and I was entertaining her, leaving little to no time to write. But it's up now, and I hope you all enjoy it. :)**

* * *

On Monday morning, Emily was sitting in her U.S. Government class, trying halfheartedly to pay attention while Mrs. Foster rambled on about Congress. She could hardly keep focused because her thoughts kept drifting to Paige. Her lips, her voice, the way her eyes smiled when she looked at Emily; everything about the girl had Emily entranced. She kept replaying their date in her mind, over and over again, remembering the flutter in her heart when Paige asked her to be her girlfriend. Paige's nervousness at the time was endearing, and Emily smiled thinking about it.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a nudge on her left elbow. She turned her head to see Hanna with a quirked eyebrow. She shook her head slightly, telling Hanna to drop it for now, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed Aria and Spencer. They were sitting in the row in front of her, looking back at her with questions in their eyes as well. She smiled at them and looked back up at the blackboard before resuming taking notes. The other girls looked at each other curiously, but evidently decided to drop it for now as they didn't question Emily any further.

Emily finished writing what was on the board and her thoughts immediately began to drift back to Paige. She mentally cursed whoever set up the schedules at their school because she and Paige only had one class together, sixth period Physics. She would have to go all day without seeing her, except during breaks in the day, and she was not looking forward to it.

Emily looked back down at her notes and read over them, figuring she should try to at least learn something during this class period. It was all boring stuff about the election process of Congress but at the end, she had written: "The number of House representatives of a given state is dependent upon its population. The Senate, however, is composed of 100 members regardless of population, two for each Paige."

She smiled at how Paige consumed her every thought. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The rest of the day passed similarly for Emily. She took some notes in each class but was hardly able to focus at all on what she was writing. She knew that she would have to really crack down and study on her own for a couple of tests she had coming up, but today she wasn't worrying about it. There was only one thing on her mind, and her heart sped up significantly when she passed that one thing in the hall on her way to fifth period Trigonometry. Paige was walking in the opposite direction and they passed right by each other, making eye contact and beaming. Emily grabbed Paige's hand and gave it a small squeeze. Her heart did a flip and her willpower to get through the day was renewed when she felt Paige squeeze back briefly before disappearing behind Emily in a sea of students.

When Emily got to Trigonometry, she practically floated into the classroom. She made her way to her seat at the back of the room and sat at her desk. She took out her notebook and a pencil and felt her lips turn upwards in another smile as she realized that the pencil she grabbed this time was the one that Paige had let her borrow in Physics the week prior.

"Hello, earth to Em?"

Emily turned to her left to see Hanna sitting in her seat, waving her hand in front of Emily's face.

"Oh, hi, Han. Sorry, I didn't see you come in."

"You're really spacing out today. Everyone knows I think school is as boring as the next person and yet even _I'm_ paying more attention than you. What gives?"

Emily paused, not wanting to say anything just yet. She planned on telling all of the girls about her relationship with Paige at lunch. She had never told them about dating her the last time because Paige wasn't ready to come out, and Emily wasn't going to disrespect that. Plus, she started dating Samara almost immediately after ending things with Paige so she didn't feel the need to really bring it up. But this time the situation with Paige was different; she really felt like they were going to work out. She was excited to tell her friends about her new relationship, but she was sure the girls would be surprised that Paige was gay. She wanted to tell all of them together and see their reactions all at once. That, and she wanted to tell them out loud, not in a note. She wanted to look at her friends with pride as she told them Paige was her girlfriend.

"I'll tell you later, okay? Promise."

Hanna sighed, ever the dramatist. "Fine. But it'd better be juicy. You have the same look on your face that I get when I'm thinking about going shoe shopping."

Emily chuckled and turned towards the front of the room as the bell rang and Mr. Wilson began his lesson about the unit circle. After what seemed like an eternity of taking notes, Emily looked up at the clock, seeing that they still had half an hour of class left until lunch. She sighed and looked back down at her paper to find that Hanna had left a folded note on top of her notebook. She looked over at Hanna who nodded at the slip of paper, indicating that Emily read it. Emily glanced up to make sure the teacher wasn't looking before opening it.

_Just tell me. Please?_

Emily rolled her eyes and looked over to see Hanna pouting, her bottom lip sticking out slightly. Emily shook her head firmly and gave the paper back to Hanna, having written nothing on it.

A few seconds later, it was back on Emily's desk. Emily knew Hanna wasn't one to give up until she knew all the gossip. She opened the note.

_Come on. I'm your best friend. At least give me a hint?_

Emily sighed and picked up her pencil, writing in her neat handwriting underneath Hanna's messy scrawl.

_No, Han. You'll find out at lunch. _

She passed the note back to Hanna and went back to taking Trig notes. She heard her friend scoff beside her, and she smirked to herself in satisfaction, enjoying making Hanna squirm with anticipation.

Emily spent the rest of the class period ignoring the daggers Hanna's eyes were shooting her way and trying, to no avail, to learn about the unit circle.

* * *

Finally the bell rang signaling the end of class. Hanna and Emily gathered their things and exited the room together. They were entering the lunch line when Emily's phone buzzed. She checked it to find a text from Paige.

_I've been missing you all day. I can't wait to see you later. _

They had agreed not to spend time together at lunch so that Emily could inform her friends of their relationship alone. Emily had wanted Paige to be there with her, but Paige had never sat with them before and it might be a little awkward for her to do so before they were informed of their new romance. Plus, since Paige was going to join them more often in the future, she insisted that her girlfriend have some time alone to talk and be with her friends.

Emily hit reply and started typing out a message to Paige.

_I can't wait, either. I've been thinking about you a lot._

She hit send and moved forward in the lunch line. She looked up and saw Hanna with a suspicious look on her face.

"What?"

"Who are you texting?"

"Uh...someone. Why?"

"That look that's been on your face all day? It's like a thousand times more intense right now. You haven't looked that way since...Oh my God. Em, are you seeing someone?"

Emily looked down, unsure how to respond. She didn't want to give it away without Spencer and Aria there, but she didn't want to lie to Hanna either.

"No comment."

Hanna squealed. "Oh my God! Who is she?! Tell me everything!"

"Shhh!" Emily said. "Relax! I'll tell you when we sit down with Aria and Spencer."

Hanna rolled her eyes, and Emily thought she saw her bounce slightly up and down in anxiousness.

They continued through the lunch line. When it was their turn, Hanna tripped all over her words ordering a salad. Emily chuckled at her friend's excitement. Hanna had been the first of her friends that she came out to, and her support had been unwavering from the very beginning. The fact that she was this thrilled to learn that Emily was dating someone again made Emily really happy. She wouldn't trade her friends for anything.

They paid for their food and went to sit at their usual table, finding Aria and Spencer already seated. Emily greeted them before putting her bag on the bench next to her and opening the plastic container holding her turkey sandwich. She picked up the sandwich and took a bite, looking at her friends and chewing. She swallowed and smiled, seeing their expectant faces.

"What's up, guys?" She said, feigning innocence.

"Oh my God, Em! Spill! Who are you dating?" Hanna said.

"Whoa, wait, you're dating someone?" Aria asked, looking at Emily with wide eyes.

Emily smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I have a new girlfriend."

"YES!" Hanna screamed, doing a fist pump.

Spencer grabbed Hanna's hand and yanked it down. "Relax, Han. People will stare."

"Whatever. People should be staring at us, anyway. We're hot." She turned back to Emily. "So who is it?"

Emily laughed at Hanna's enthusiasm. Her smile never left her face as she spoke. "It's Paige."

There was a long pause as the other three girls stared at her, unsure they heard correctly. It was Spencer who broke the silence.

"McCullers?"

"Yes."

"I thought she was totally homophobic," Aria said.

"That was before she'd accepted the fact that she was gay. She's comfortable with who she is now, though, and there's something great between us."

"But, Em, she tried to _drown _you!" Spencer said.

Emily closed her eyes, getting sick of this accusation. She took a deep breath and opened them again.

"Spencer, for the last time, she wasn't actually going to drown me. I think she was so afraid of how she was feeling, she thought that maybe by bullying me, she could convince herself she wasn't like me. I'm not saying what she did was okay, but I understand it. I forgave her a long time ago. I told you about how she biked to my house in the pouring rain late at night just to apologize, right? She was really sincere, and she's been nothing but great to me since."

"Still, it's hard to forgive that kind of violence, Em."

"I know, and you know I appreciate your concern. But it's not what I need right now. I can take care of myself. What I need is for you to be happy for me, because Paige makes me happier than I've been in a long time."

"But-"

"No buts, Spencer! Paige has grown SO much since last year. You don't know her like I do. Can you please trust me on this?"

"I do trust you, but I don't trust her."

"But _I _do. You're one of my best friends and I'd like you to trust my judgment. She's the strongest, most courageous person I know and I admire her. She's not who you think she is anymore."

Spencer paused, then said, "Em, I love how good your heart is, but I think sometimes you can be _too_ forgiving."

Emily felt a pang of betrayal in her gut. She knew her face looked pained as she spoke. "Everyone deserves a second chance, Spencer. If she's ever violent like that again, I'll end things, but I have complete trust that she won't be."

"I just don't get a good feeling from her, Em."

"You used to say the same thing about Toby! You're too quick to judge someone's character! You trust him now, right?"

"Yeah, but he didn't actually DO anything!"

"True, but you were still wary of him for awhile. But then you spent some time with him and it turns out he's a great guy. You don't know the Paige that I know. I swear, she's different. She's _incredible_, actually. I'm asking you to please give her another chance, like you did Toby. I really care about her, Spencer."

Spencer looked at Emily for a few seconds, reading her expression. Finally, she said, "Okay. If it means that much to you, I'll try. But she's really going to have to earn my trust."

"That's fine, as long as you allow her to. I'd really like all of you to get to know her." Emily picked up her water bottle and took a sip, trying to calm her heart rate down and waiting for someone to reply.

Aria was the first to speak. "I'd be happy to, Em." She smiled, and Emily smiled back in thanks.

"Yeah, me too. I'm glad you're happy again, and I'd love to learn more about your new honey." Hanna said, winking.

"Thanks, guys. That means a lot to me."

Spencer looked at Emily for few more moments before speaking. "Alright. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, if she's that important to you."

Emily studied Spencer's eyes for a hint of insincerity. After finding none, she grabbed Spencer's hand and gave it a light squeeze before releasing it. "She is. Thank you. You won't regret it."

The four of them went back to eating. Throughout the meal, Spencer, Aria, and Hanna asked Emily questions about how she and Paige had gotten together. She explained to them that they had dated the previous year; she told the stories of Paige's surprise kiss in the car, their date at the karaoke bar, the ill-fated picnic, and their eventual split due to being in different places in their comfort levels.

She explained how she had gone to Paige's house when she was drugged, and felt herself blush with shame about it. She told them about kissing Paige by her pool and swimming with her, then about their perfect date the next night.

By the time she finished, she was beaming from ear to ear and she didn't care to hide it. She was really happy that she could share this part of her life with her friends again, and she could tell by their smiles that they were happy for her.

Soon the bell rang signaling the end of lunch, and the girls threw away their trash and headed off to their last classes of the day. Hanna, Aria, and Emily had Physics together, and Spencer went in the opposite direction to AP Calculus.

As Emily, Aria, and Hanna entered Miss Ross's Physics class, Emily saw Paige already in her seat. Her heart flipped just seeing the girl, and she smiled and waved at her. Paige returned the gestures and watched as Emily sat down in her seat, too far across the room for either of the girls' liking.

"God, you guys can't even keep your eyes off of each other." Aria said, smirking as she observed Paige and Emily.

Emily looked at Aria and blushed, still smiling.

Hanna and Aria exchanged glances, smiling as Emily turned her gaze back to Paige, who was still looking in her direction with a soft smile on her face.

Emily and Paige maintained eye contact for a few moments before they both turned to the front of the room; Miss Ross had started going over the homework they had been assigned over the weekend.

Emily found herself glancing in Paige's direction every thirty seconds, and she found it adorable how hard Paige was concentrating on the answers to the homework. Emily watched as she erased something she had on her paper and corrected it, or smirked triumphantly when she got an answer right.

About ten minutes later, Miss Ross had finished with the homework answers and began to lecture about the next topic in the book. Emily suddenly felt her phone buzz. She glanced at the front of the room to make sure the teacher's back was turned before opening her phone to a text from Paige.

_So how did it go at lunch?_

Emily kept her phone hidden underneath her desk table as she typed out her reply.

_Overall, pretty well. Spencer's a little wary, but she's going to try to get to know you. _

She hit send and picked up her pencil, writing down what Miss Ross had added to the board. A few minutes later, her phone received a reply.

_I knew she'd be the one not to trust me. But I'll charm her pants off, don't worry. ;)_

Emily smiled and began typing.

_I know you will. Just don't charm her pants off LITERALLY, okay? You're all mine. ;)_

Emily glanced ahead again to make sure she hadn't been caught by Miss Ross. The teacher was blissfully unaware of the many phones students were using in the room, as usual. Emily turned her gaze back to Paige to watch her read the text. Paige's face broke out into a grin which she quickly tried to stifle so as to not arouse the suspicion of anyone around her. Emily, satisfied, picked up her pencil again to continue taking notes.

Her phone buzzed again, after a few minutes. She was grateful the vibration wasn't too loud. She would be very happy making this sixth period texting with Paige a daily tradition.

_Yes, I'm completely yours. _

Emily melted and bit back a huge grin. She looked up and saw Hanna and Aria next to her, grinning at her. Hanna tore out a piece of paper from her notebook and scribbled something on it, showed to Aria, then handed it to Emily.

_Texting Paige?_

Emily grinned and looked back up, nodding.

Aria took the paper out of Emily's hand and wrote something in her neat handwriting. She showed it to Hanna before giving it to Emily.

_I really am happy for you, Em. I've missed seeing you smile like this. _

Emily looked back up at her friends and just nodded her thanks. They all turned back toward the teacher and took a few more notes. Emily glanced at Paige again, and found Paige's eyes trained on her. Emily smiled and then texted Paige back.

They messaged back and forth for about twenty more minutes, until the class period ended and they were free for the day. Normally they would have swim practice right after school but coach had sent out an email saying she wasn't feeling well, and since they had performed well at the last meet they could take the day off. This worked out for Emily because all she wanted was to have some free time with Paige.

She, Aria, and Hanna gathered their things and left the room, finding Paige waiting for them outside. Emily reached out for Paige's hand, lacing their fingers together, and kissed Paige on the cheek.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," Paige responded. Then she looked over and smiled at Aria and Hanna. "Hey, guys."

"Hi, Paige," the other two said in unison.

"How are you?" Aria asked as they girls started walking down the hallway toward their lockers.

"I'm doing really well, thanks. And you?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"So I hear you've stolen Em's heart, huh?"

"Hanna!"

"What? Aria, look at them, they're adorable."

"Thanks, Hanna. Yeah, I don't know how I got so lucky," Paige said, smiling at Emily.

She stopped walking and gave Emily a quick kiss on the lips before turning around to open her locker.

"You know I really am jealous of you sometimes, Em. You're always so sweet and romantic when we see you with a girl. Guys always try to act macho or whatever for their cronies. I wish I was gay."

Paige laughed and turned back to look at Hanna, watching as Emily started to speak.

"I can't imagine that. You love guys way too much."

"Yeah, I know. Damn my straightness."

Paige closed her locker and rejoined the group as they walked to Emily's locker. Hanna continued to lament about the woes of being straight until she saw a hot guy walk by and her eyes followed him all the way down the hall.

Hanna and Aria got the things they needed from their lockers next to Emily's and turned back to the new couple.

"We're going to head to the mall, but we'll see you guys tomorrow. Oh, and Paige, will you be sitting with us at lunch?" Hanna asked.

"Yeah, I was planning to, if that's okay."

"Of course! We're looking forward to it. Have a good day, guys," Aria said. The four smiled at each other and then Aria and Hanna walked off down the hall.

"Well they seem to like me," Paige said when they were out of earshot.

Emily smiled as she closed her locker. "Yeah, they're really happy for me. For _us_."

"Not Spencer, though."

"She promised to try. Once she sees what I see in you, she'll let her guard down."

"She's still not over the 'drowning' thing, is she?" Paige asked, using air quotes.

"No, she's not. She thinks I'm being too forgiving. But I told her that you're not that person anymore, and you've grown a lot. She said you're going to have to earn her trust," Emily said, wincing apologetically. "But she's open to getting to know you and giving you another chance."

"Good. I guess I can't expect her to just trust me automatically now. I regret how I treated you every day, and I can't blame her for being mad. I'm just looking forward to proving that I'm trustworthy now."

"I'm sure you'll do great. And if she doesn't budge, I'll just deal with it. Her opinion matters to me because she's my friend, but I'm not going to break up with you just because she can't learn to trust you."

"That's good to know. But I know that she's important to you, so what she thinks is important to me. I want your friends to like me. I hate the thought of causing any drama between you guys."

"Well then just be yourself and everything will be fine. I'm sure of it."

Paige smiled at Emily, and leaned in to give her a sweet kiss. "I think I can do that."

They walked down the hall holding hands. They exited the school and found Emily's Toyota at the end of the parking lot. Paige texted her mom that she wouldn't be home until later in the evening, and they drove to Emily's house to spend the afternoon together.

**I hope you all liked Chapter 3! I promise I'll get the next chapter up quicker. And reviews are always lovely. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I still ****don't own Pretty Little Liars or any of the characters. **

**A/N: Thanks everyone, for reviewing/favoriting/following! I'm sorry that this took awhile to upload again, but I made it a little bit longer to try to make up for that. **

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I can see Spencer glaring at me already," Paige said as she and Emily walked into the cafeteria together. Paige directed Emily's attention over to the girls' usual table, where Spencer was watching the two of them intently, her lips pressed together in a firm line. She quickly noticed Paige and Emily looking at her and turned to join in conversation with Hanna and Aria, who were talking and laughing next to her.

Emily turned back to Paige, touching her arm in reassurance. "I know she looks intimidating but she promised me she'd give you a chance. Spencer is very loyal and she keeps her promises. Are you having second thoughts?"

Paige took a breath and let it out, thinking about how to respond. "No, not really. I want to do this. I'm just nervous. I want them to like me."

"They will. Just be yourself." Emily smiled at Paige, her grin growing even wider when Paige visibly relaxed as she looked into Emily's eyes.

"Okay. You're right. I'm not hiding anything, so there should be nothing to worry about."

"Exactly." Emily took Paige's hand in hers, giving it a squeeze as they began walking toward the table in the center of the cafeteria at which Emily's friends sat. Paige reminded herself to be calm. These were her girlfriend's best friends. Emily trusted them completely, so Paige would have to have faith that they would come to embrace her as part of Emily's life.

"Hey, guys," Emily said as they approached the table.

"Hi, Em. Hi, Paige," Hanna said, smiling at the couple.

Paige waved with the hand that wasn't grasping Emily's. "Hello." She looked at the three girls and smiled as she and Emily sat at the table next to Aria, across from Spencer and Hanna.

Aria turned to Paige. "We're glad you could sit with us today."

"So am I," Paige replied. She looked over at Spencer, trying to keep her expression friendly and relaxed. Spencer nodded and gave her a terse smile.

Paige smiled back, then unzipped her backpack and pulled out a brown paper bag containing her lunch. She was on a pretty strict diet during the season, and she knew that eating the greasy and questionable cafeteria food would throw her body out of whack and mess up her form in the pool. She had to stay in peak physical condition and that meant packing her own healthy lunches. She took an apple out of the bag and took a bite.

"So what were you guys talking about?" Emily asked, pulling out her own sack lunch.

Aria and Hanna giggled, while Spencer rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the corners of her lips turning up as well.

"I was five minutes late to English today," Hanna said, "and you know Mr. Phillips."

"Oh God, what did he make you do?" Emily asked, smiling.

"An interpretive dance to 'Moves Like Jagger' by Maroon 5 , with accentuated arm movements. I went all out and, according to the kid who sits next to me, I ended up looking like a four-legged octopus whose tentacles had fallen asleep."

The other four girls laughed hard at this, imagining Hanna flailing around the front of the classroom. Mr. Phillips, Hanna's English teacher, was notorious for punishing tardy students by making them do something that was humiliating for them and hilarious to everyone else. At least half of the time the punishment was to do some sort of dance, often a very stupid one which had the student in question moving a body part or two in ways they wouldn't move when dancing normally.

As the laughing at the table turned into soft chuckles, Paige felt a sting at the back of her throat. She began coughing, her eyes starting to water as the juice from her apple fought her attempts to get it out of her trachea. The other girls turned to her with wide eyes.

"Oh my God, Paige, are you okay?"

Paige nodded in reply to Hanna, her coughing fit finally starting to lighten up as she expelled the foreign liquid from her lungs. Emily picked up her water bottle and handed it to Paige, who gratefully took a sip to try to recover. When she had, she handed the bottle back to Emily with a grateful smile, then turned to the rest of the table.

"Apple went down the wrong pipe. Sorry."

She cleared her throat one more time as the other girls relaxed and went back to their own lunches. Paige looked down at her apple, her cheeks burning red, chastising the fruit with her eyes for making her look like an idiot.

"So, Paige, have you ever been late to Mr. Phillips' class?"

Paige looked to Aria, grateful for the diversion of attention away from her choking episode. "No, I've been careful not to be. A girl was late to class on the second day of school this year, and he made her recite the alphabet backwards as fast as possible. If she messed up, she had to start over. She seemed to have fun with it, but I would have been really embarrassed. I...like to stay more under the radar."

The other girls nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, you don't really strike me as the class clown type," said Hanna.

Paige shook her head. "I'm more of an observer."

There was a comfortable pause in the conversation as all five girls took bites of their meals, and Paige took the opportunity to glance at Spencer, reading her body language. The girl seemed tense, but from what little she knew about her that didn't seem unusual. What was odd, however, was how quiet she had been throughout the entire lunch period thus far. She decided to try to make conversation.

"Spencer, I really like your blazer," Paige said, smiling at the brunette.

Spencer glanced down at her outfit and then back at Paige, donning a smile that looked somewhat forced. "Thank you."

"Where did you get it?"

"At a little boutique I stopped in when I visited Milan a few years ago."

Paige raised her eyebrows. "Wow. So you like to travel?"

Spencer looked at Paige for a second, as if searching for something, then nodded. "Yeah, my family and I travel together almost annually."

"That sounds great. My parents and I have mostly traveled in the U.S. and parts of Canada. I'd love to go other 's only so much you can learn about other countries from history books, and I want to be immersed in foreign cultures. I think I'd like to study abroad in college."

"I definitely recommend it; I suggest you look into Prague. We visited there last year and I fell in love with it."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks." Paige smiled at Spencer, who smiled back with more authenticity than before, though she still looked apprehensive.

The conversation changed to idle chit chat as the girls finished up their lunch. Paige piped up with something to say here and there. She convincingly feigned interest in Hanna's fashion faux pas from the previous day, and made Aria and Hanna laugh on more than one occasion. She even managed to get a couple of chuckles out of Spencer. After awhile, Paige had relaxed a lot and she felt pretty confident that she had made a good impression on Emily's friends.

Finally the bell rang signalling the end of lunch and the girls rose from the table, gathering their things and moving towards the doors of the cafeteria.

"Hey, let's have a sleepover this weekend. Friday? My house? Pizza and movies?" Aria suggested, looking at Spencer, Hanna, and Emily.

They all agreed and Aria paused, turning to Paige. "Would you like to come, Paige?"

Paige's eyes widened slightly and she looked to Emily on her left, who was grinning at Aria. Emily then turned to Paige, her smile never faltering. Paige smiled back and turned back to Aria. "Sure, okay. Thanks."

"Great! Bring along some movies, if you'd like."

As they walked out of the cafeteria, Paige felt a sense of accomplishment. She had always dreamed of being Emily's girlfriend, and she'd spent countless hours picturing the two of them together; but she had never given much thought to how she would fit into the rest of Emily's life. Would she get along with Emily's friends? Would Emily's parents like her? She hadn't really considered these things before because she was always just daydreaming about Emily; about _her_ and Emily. But now, after this lunch period, she was starting to feel a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, Emily's friends could become her friends too.

* * *

On Friday afternoon Paige stood in front of her family's DVD case, deciding which movies from her collection to bring to Aria's house. She didn't know the other girls very well, but she knew they were all very different from each other, and their taste in movies probably spanned a wide range. Hanna seemed like a chick flick kind of girl, favoring cheesy rom-coms with a happy ending; Paige guessed that Spencer was probably the type to enjoy historically accurate dramas; Aria was artsy, so she probably liked films known for their novel camerawork and inspired filmmaking; Paige knew for a fact that Emily loved the Disney classics; and she herself enjoyed action films. She chose one film in each of these genres from her family's extensive DVD collection, reading the backs of each to remind her of the details even though she had seen them all before. Finally satisfied with her choices, she took them back upstairs to her room where there was a half-full duffel bag on the foot of her bed. She placed the DVDs beside it.

She went to her dresser and pulled her favorite pair of red plaid pajama pants out of the second to last drawer, along with a black tank top. She packed these in her bag atop the outfit she had packed for the next day.

She spent the next few minutes going between her bedroom and the bathroom, collecting things she would need such as her toothbrush and face wash and putting them in the side zippered pocket of her duffel. Once she had everything packed, she placed the movies on top of her clothing and zipped up the bag, carrying it downstairs.

She entered the kitchen and plopped her bag on a barstool at the counter before walking over to the refrigerator. She found the fruit salad she had made an hour previously, making sure the saran wrap around the bowl was still in place to keep the fruit fresh.

As if on cue, her phone sounded indicating a text from Emily.

_I'm here! Ready?_

Paige grabbed her duffel off of the barstool, took her keys down from the hook on the wall by the kitchen cabinet, and walked into the foyer and out the front door, locking it behind her. She headed down the walkway towards Emily's car; she opened the back door and put her duffel on the seat before getting into the passenger seat, resting the fruit bowl in her lap.

"Hey, Em." Paige leaned over to give Emily a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi. You brought fruit?"

"Yeah, just a small thank you to everyone for inviting me along tonight. Plus, we have to offset that greasy pizza with _something _healthy."

Emily chuckled as she pulled away from the curb and Paige fastened her seatbelt.

"Fruit is good, but the pizza will still be just as heart attack-inducing."

Paige shook her head. "Shhh...actual logic isn't allowed this weekend."

Emily giggled, moving her hand to Paige's lap in front of the bowl. Paige took it in both of her own hands, playing with Emily's fingers and drawing circles on the darker girl's palm.

"That tickles," Emily chuckled.

"Oh, sorry."

"No, it feels nice. Just a little distracting while driving." Emily briefly smiled over at Paige, who stopped her movements and simply held Emily's hand in hers.

The drive to Aria's took about five minutes, at the end of which Emily parked at the curb in front of the Montgomery's modest house. Paige sat there for a few moments looking at the building. Her own parents were fairly wealthy; her father's position as a deacon at the church brought in a smaller portion of their income, but her mother was a successful pediatrician so they were well-off. Paige loved her spacious house, but she had always been jealous of people like Aria, whose place seemed so much more homey than the McCullers residence ever had. The lack of said homeyness at Paige's house was largely due in part to her father's less-than-desirable tendency to be stiff and controlling. Her loving mother made up for it in part, but Anna often gave in to Nick's authoritarian demeanor and Paige felt quite small in their five bedroom, three bathroom abode. Even from the outside of the Montgomery house, however, Paige could already tell it was full of love.

She and Emily both opened their doors and exited the car. Paige set her fruit bowl on the roof while she grabbed her duffel bag out of the back. Emily locked the car with a push of the button on her clicker, causing the car to beep as the girls walked up the steps to Aria's house.

Emily rang the doorbell and after about fifteen seconds Aria opened the door to greet them.

"Hey guys! Come in. Hanna and Spencer are already here," she said, smiling.

Aria led them into the living room, where Spencer sat in a large armchair with her legs crossed and Hanna was sprawled out on the floor, propped up on her elbows and reading a magazine. They looked up as Paige and Emily entered the room.

"Hi! I was just quizzing Spence on what type of shoe best fits her personality, " Hanna said. "You wanna go next?" she asked, looking at Paige.

Paige huffed out a laugh. "Um, no thanks. I don't need a quiz to tell me I like my sneakers."

"Smart choice, I'm bored out of my mind," Spencer said, narrowing her eyes playfully at Hanna, which earned a scoff from the blonde.

Emily put her overnight bag down on the floor at the end of the couch; Paige mirrored her actions and set her duffel next to Emily's.

"I brought some fruit, if anyone wants any."

After a short moment, Hanna suddenly burst into laughter. Paige and Emily both looked at her, one eyebrow quirked.

"What's so funny?" Spencer asked.

"She brought fruit," Hanna choked out, doubling over in laughter again.

"Yeah, and...?"

"Well you are what you eat!"

There was a beat of silence-save for Hanna's giggling-in which the other four girls took a second to register what Hanna said. Paige blushed furiously, though joined in laughing with the rest of them.

"Oh my God, Han," Aria said when she had composed herself, though she was still fighting laughter at the back of her throat. "That's kind of offensive." Hanna's statement wasn't unusual for her, but sometimes the things that came out of her mouth were shocking nonetheless.

"Oh come on, Paige knows I didn't mean it like that," Hanna said, when she had composed herself. She turned to look at the girl in question. "Right, Paige?"

"Oh, yeah, I know," Paige said, still chuckling slightly. "I didn't take it that way. Besides, it's true," she said, shrugging. She could feel her cheeks still burning with embarrassment, though it was lessening in intensity.

"I'll go get some utensils," Aria said, and she walked out of the living room toward the kitchen, still smiling.

Emily sat down on the couch and looked up at Paige, inviting her to join by patting the seat next to her with an open hand. Paige complied, settling down next to Emily and placing the bowl of fruit on the coffee table.

Aria came back into the room carrying five small bowls and forks. She passed them out and the girls started filling their bowls with fruit.

"You know, you didn't have to bring anything, Paige," Aria said with a small smile.

Paige swallowed a strawberry slice before responding. "I know, but I wanted to."

"Well, thank you. It's delicious," Aria said, putting a piece of honeydew into her mouth.

"You're welcome."

There were a few moments of quiet, broken only by forks clanking on bowls and the flipping of the pages of Hanna's magazine. Then Spencer spoke.

"So, Paige, what are your intentions with Emily?"

Emily whipped her head to her right and glared at her friend. "Spencer! Rude."

"No, Em, it's okay," Paige said, placing her hand on Emily's knee, hoping the contact would calm her girlfriend down. "I'll answer any questions Spencer has."

Emily turned back around and searched her girlfriend's eyes. Paige looked calm, sure of herself, and ready for Spencer's interrogation. Emily laid back on the couch and sighed, bracing herself for what was to come.

Paige looked Spencer right in the eye, fighting her natural instinct to avoid her gaze. "My intention is to make Emily happy."

"And you think you're capable of that?"

"YES, she is!" Emily all but shouted at Spencer.

Paige reached out for Emily's hand and grasped it, repeating her actions from earlier in the car and tracing circles on Emily's palm with her fingertip. Emily relaxed and let out a mumbled apology as she let Paige speak again.

"I think I've been doing a good job so far, yeah."

"Emily told us that the reason you guys broke up before was because you were too afraid to come out. I know you're out now at school, but what about your parents? Are you keeping Emily a secret from them?"

Paige could sense Emily's anger without even looking at her. She gave Emily's hand a quick squeeze before continuing her circles, hoping to reassure Emily that she could handle Spencer, and that this was a conversation she needed-even wanted-to have with the intimidating girl.

"No, actually I told them I was gay about six months ago, when Emily and I were apart. Emily's strength and openness inspired me, and I figured that it was only fair to me, my parents, and any girl I might date in the future to finally be honest with them. It was terrifying but I've never felt so liberated."

Spencer's eyes widened. She obviously hadn't been expecting that answer, not that Paige could blame her. One of her biggest regrets was telling Emily she couldn't be seen with her, and she understood that it was difficult for Spencer to not only forgive that, but also to comprehend how Paige had made so much progress in relatively little time.

"How did they take it?"

"They were upset at first," Paige replied, nodding. "They didn't understand it. My dad's a deacon, and both he and my mom were raised in traditional religious homes. But they came around fairly quickly, after a few long conversations."

"And they know that you're with Emily?"

"Yes."

"Are they okay seeing you with her? You know, holding hands, kissing, things like that? Or do you have to censor yourselves so they don't feel uncomfortable?"

"Well Emily hasn't actually interacted with them yet since we got together. They're still a little bit awkward when I talk about her, mostly with my dad, but they want me to be happy, and they're trying to embrace who I am. Plus, being open about our relationship is a higher priority to me than my parents' comfort level. I won't be sneaking around with Emily. Not this time."

Spencer studied Paige's face, nodding slightly. Paige hoped that meant she saw sincerity in her expression.

"Good. And what about your violent past? How can we trust you won't lose your temper again and hurt her?"

"Spencer, you're being really intense right now," Aria chimed in, glancing at Emily. She could tell Emily was furious and if it hadn't been for Paige keeping her calm, she would have blown up by now.

"Yeah, it's like the Spanish Imposition in here," Hanna said.

"It's Inquisition, Hanna," Spencer corrected.

"Whatever," Hanna said, rolling her eyes. "Just chill out."

"Guys, it's really okay. I can handle the questions," Paige reassured the girls.

"Paige, you shouldn't have to. I'm sorry about this, it's not fair to you," Emily said to Paige, an apology in her eyes.

"It's fine, Em. I promise," Paige responded. She lifted Emily's hand up with hers and brushed a soft kiss, then two, against Emily's knuckles.

When Emily's eyes showed her surrender, Paige turned back to Spencer, the determination back on her face. "I regret those actions every day. I was terrified at the time, of who I was and what it meant. How my parents would react. I was afraid that I'd be kicked out if I let myself even think about girls in that way, because I was paranoid my dad would somehow be able to tell. He's always pressured me to be the best, both in school and in swimming, so that on top of fearing his reaction to my sexuality was too much to handle and I snapped. I won't make any excuses, but that was the reason for what I did. I regretted it right away and Emily and I moved past it pretty easily. Right Em?" Paige asked, looking at Emily.

Emily nodded. "I've told you over and over, Spencer. That's not who she is anymore."

"How can you be sure, though, Em? That kind of temper doesn't usually just go away."

"I admit, I do sometimes let my emotions get the best of me," Paige replied, "but coming out has reduced my anger significantly, because I'm not walking around in a cloud of fear anymore. And I've learned ways to control it when I do start to feel overwhelmed by one feeling or another."

"Yeah, Spence, take this conversation as a perfect example. Paige is keeping her cool really well. If I were her I would have flipped out at you by now. Emily looks like she's about to," Hanna said, throwing her arm out to gesture in Emily's direction. "Paige doesn't seem like someone with an uncontrollable temper to me."

Spencer looked at Hanna and then shifted her gaze back to Paige, considering what Hanna had said. "That's a good point," she conceded.

Paige glanced over at Hanna, grateful for the support. Hanna smiled.

Paige turned back to Spencer. "I've had feelings for Emily since I met her in ninth grade," she said, ignoring the chorus of "wows" she heard from Aria and Hanna. "I fought against them for years, but they only grew stronger the harder I fought. Now that I'm out and happy and I have her on my arm, I would never consider doing anything to jeopardize that. Not to mention _her_ happiness and safety. That's obviously the most important thing."

There was a pause as Spencer digested Paige's words, which Emily used as an opportunity to speak up.

"Spencer," she said, "Paige is the sweetest, most attentive girlfriend ever. Just a couple days ago we were cuddling on my bed after watching a movie, and she glanced over at my dresser and saw that I still had a picture of me and Maya up there. She asked me about it, and I started crying a little and admitted that there's still a big part of me that loves and misses Maya. And you know what Paige did? Instead of getting jealous or awkward or distant, she just held me and kissed my tears away. I kept apologizing because it wasn't fair for her to have to do that, but she said I should never be sorry for loving someone."

A weighted silence filled the room. Paige looked at Spencer, Aria, and Hanna each in turn, observing their solemn expressions. After a few moments, Aria spoke up.

"Paige, that must have been hard for you."

Paige chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before replying. "I felt a tiny bit jealous, only because it's normal to be when you think of your girlfriend or boyfriend with someone else. But I didn't feel threatened by her feelings for Maya. I've never once thought she was using me to replace or forget her. Grief takes time, and there's nothing wrong with that. Honestly, the hardest part about the whole thing for me was seeing Emily in pain."

Spencer was looking at her in a very different way now. Most of the defensiveness was gone from the brunette's eyes. Her features were softer and Paige could swear she saw her actually deflate a little bit.

"That's mature of you."

"Like I said, making Emily happy is my first priority. Helping her work through her grief is one way I'm trying to do that."

"Right, and she's good at it," Emily said to Spencer. "She cheered me up really quickly that night." She turned to Paige. "And you make me happy all on your own, too. Aside from helping me through the grief, _you_ make me happy. "

Paige nodded, smiling. "I know."

Emily kissed Paige on the cheek and leaned into her as Paige put her arm around her girlfriend's shoulders.

Emily turned her head to look at Spencer again. "Do you trust her now, Spence? Can we just have fun and watch a movie or something?"

Spencer watched the way Emily melted into Paige, and how it seemed like all of her tension fell away with Paige's arm around her.

"Yeah, I'm feeling better about you two. I still want to get to know you better, Paige, but for what it's worth, I apologize for being so cold with you up until now."

Paige dipped her head in a nod as she spoke. "It's okay. It means you care about her. I can't blame you," she said. Her smile offered forgiveness, which Spencer's eyes reciprocated.

* * *

The girls lounged in various positions in the living room, an open box of pizza on the table and near-empty paper plates in their hands and on the table. Hanna was lying on her stomach only a few feet from the TV, her knees bent and feet in the air, her chin resting in her hands. Aria sat cross-legged next to her, a velvet throw pillow in her lap for comfort. Spencer was still situated in the chair she had deemed hers for the night; she now sat sideways with her legs hanging over the armrest, her back resting on the other, a pillow behind her to cushion her spine. Paige and Emily were on the Montgomery's' couch, Emily curled up into Paige's side with her head resting on the auburn-haired girl's shoulder as Paige's arm was draped around her, her hand resting on her hip. Emily's arm, in turn, was around Paige's waist, hugging her close.

The movie they had chosen-the romantic comedy that Paige brought along-was a big hit. It was a pretty obscure one that none of the girls besides Paige had seen or even heard of, but a lot of laughter and a fair amount of sighing over the romance filled the room as the girls became sucked into the story. Paige, however, spent the time enjoying Emily. The way Emily's hair smelled-as always-of peaches and chlorine. The way Emily's laugh felt when it vibrated into her through the points of contact between their bodies. The warmth Emily exuded, not only in body heat but also in her Emily-ness. Periodically Paige would run her hand slowly up and down Emily's side, letting it rest once again on the darker girl's hip. She felt Emily shiver every time, and in most cases Emily shifted her head to look at Paige and place a soft, chaste kiss on her lips, smiling into it before returning her attention back to the film. During the most romantic parts, she felt Emily tighten her hold around Paige's waist, sighing softly in contentment. Paige fell just a little bit harder for her every time.

When the movie was over, the girls decided they were sufficiently tired and it was time for bed. While Aria went to the linen cabinet to get pillows and blankets for everyone, Emily and Paige went into the bathroom together to change and brush their teeth.

They both made attempts to avert their gaze as they changed, though they had seen one another's bodies numerous times in the locker room before and after swim practice. Neither girl stripped down to more than a bra and underwear, but Paige caught herself sneaking a peek at her girlfriend's toned abs as Emily pulled her grey nightshirt over her head. She was pretty sure she saw Emily looking at her too.

After they had both brushed their teeth and washed their faces, Emily moved to grab her things and open the door, but Paige stopped her with a hand on her wrist. Emily looked at her, curious.

"I just wanted to say I've had a great time tonight. After Spencer's interrogation, I felt really...at ease. Which doesn't happen often around anyone except you. And sometimes my mom, depending on the situation."

Emily smiled. She set her things down on the counter and ran her hands up and down Paige's arms. "I've had a great time too. Well, I did once my anger at Spencer wore off."

Paige chuckled softly. "Yeah, I could feel how upset you were next to me."

Emily nodded. "And a little worried. You're both so stubborn sometimes, I wasn't sure if you'd be able to get along."

Paige suddenly felt insecure. "Were you mad at me?"

Emily's eyes widened as she shook her head. "No, no. I was mad at Spencer, and I was frustrated that my best friend and my girlfriend were clashing so much. I was just upset at the situation, not at you. In fact I'm proud of you for keeping your cool as she attacked you with her questions."

"Yeah, old Paige would have lashed out, but new Paige knew better."

"I really like new Paige," Emily said, tilting her head down a little so that she was looking up at Paige through her upper eyelashes.

Paige felt a familiar, welcome tension in her stomach.

"I do, too. I like who you've helped me become."

"I don't think I had anything to do with it."

Paige nodded. "You did. I'm strong because I watched you be strong."

Emily smiled again and rested her hand on the back of Paige's neck, pulling her in for a kiss. Their lips moved together languidly, both of them smiling into each other. Neither girl felt the need to deepen the kiss, for it wasn't one fueled by lust; they were both content just being close to one another.

When they broke apart, they gathered their clothes and toiletries and headed back out into the living room to get some sleep.

* * *

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